Dear Creekers,

Few years ago, wandering on the woodworking interwebs, I bumped into a new to me yet brilliant idea: using an axe for a toolbox handle. This idea was so simple it left me mesmerized.
Last year I was fed up moving all the gear for my chainsaw in an old card board box and I decided it was time to have a proper solution.
As I bumped into an unusual brace in a flea market in Belgium, I thought it would be a good opportunity to put this tool into test.

I have documented the build for a French speaking non-neander forum I attend from time to time. The idea was to explain my way of doing things by hand and present few exotic tools I use (exotic meaning from outside Europe).

I am by far not a tool expert but my feeling is that (south?) western Europe did not really have a culture for metal hand planes and kept the woodies until quite late, and panel and back saws were barely used as frame saws of all sorts were the way to go in most shops.
Of course it was an all-different ball game in Perfidious Albion ;-)
As I am honing my skills with traditional French tools, I am planning on doing projects only with them later on.

As SMC’s audience is expert in hand tools, I will not translate all my blah blah and bad jokes, to keep the wording to a minimum.

Of course for the wise audience of the Creekers, there will be no exoticism and the product itself is plain and simple but I thought I could still present this basic build and hear some comments to improve.
I have learnt so much reading SMC for years; I felt I had somehow to report back to the forum. Of course I would be delighted to receive any input or critics about my choices.


So first, the unusual tool I found for EUR 3 in Belgium is an MF #182



I did not own a drill yet, so I was really in need of such a tool to make holes!


Here, detail pics of this drill brace






A friend gave me a walnut tree few years ago. Unfortunately she used a professional company to chop it down and they have cut it in really short sections of +/- 60cms.
I am delighted to have received this tree but can only make small projects with it.

I usually make my boards quarter sawn on a homemade sawmill.
As I would not like to spoil the venerable Neanderthal-Haven with a picture of a machine, please allow me a photographic metaphor.



This is a photographic metaphor.